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He is 7 years old. He loves soccer and is one of the top players in our rec league. Daddy played college soccer. If he wants to play in high school, he will have to start playing select soccer at some point. When is the right age to have him join the select team? I want to wait as long as possible because of the commitment and the fact that he will have to give up his other sports -- swimming and baseball -- which he is still getting enjoyment from. But at the same time, I don't want him to fall behind. I'd like to wait until he is in middle school, age 12, but is that too late?

Hey thanks for replying. Maybe I should have put this in parenting! A select team is a travel team, tournaments several times per month, higher level of play than rec soccer. You have to try out to get on it.

Hey thanks for replying. Maybe I should have put this in parenting! A select team is a travel team, tournaments several times per month, higher level of play than rec soccer. You have to try out to get on it.

Yeah we'll that's the same with Sunday leagues over here, so I would say any time now would be a good time for the little one to start

He is 7 years old. He loves soccer and is one of the top players in our rec league. Daddy played college soccer. If he wants to play in high school, he will have to start playing select soccer at some point. When is the right age to have him join the select team? I want to wait as long as possible because of the commitment and the fact that he will have to give up his other sports -- swimming and baseball -- which he is still getting enjoyment from. But at the same time, I don't want him to fall behind. I'd like to wait until he is in middle school, age 12, but is that too late?

Hi, my older son plays soccer. Where we used to live they did not start travel until age 10. We moved that year and he started a travel team in our new location at 10. They begin travel here at age 8, so plan to start my daughter in it right away. She's played rec since age 5, as did my son.
I think a lot depends on your son and what he wants. Personally, I think 12 is a bit late. From experience, I realized that the kids that did multiple sports did not have the time to devote to developing their technical skills in soccer. To become really good, obviously, the more time devoted to something, the better you are able to become. If he continues only in rec, he is not challenged to do better. He will get better by playing more, and seeing what it takes to play at a higher level.
You have the advantage of having had your husband play soccer in college, so he is familiar with the soccer world, we were not, but have learned a lot since becoming involved. Unfortunately, I think my son has lost a little time due to our errors. First lesson learned, do not pick a travel team just because it is the closest to where you live. It may not have the best coaching or the right fit. If you are committed to the whole thing, do your research on what's available around your area. Talk to other parents that have kids in travel. The best situations are teams that have paid coaches as opposed to a parent coach. You will pay a lot more, but if your goal is for him to become the best he can be, play in high school and beyond, and if he truely loves it, it is worth it. With soccer [thankfully] getting more popular and mainstream all the time, it is becoming more and more competitive. Good luck!

I don't think you have to commit to select right now, but probably by age ten. If memory serves me right our oldest daughter started playing classic/select soccer at age 9. I'd go with what your son wants for now, even if that means still swimming and playing baseball for now.

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